Antonio Conte and his Chelsea team will be looking to tighten its grips on the Premier League trophy as they take on Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. The Blues lost to Manchester United in the previous Premier League match as the gap between Chelsea and Tottenham has now narrowed to just four points.
Chelsea cannot afford any more slip ups in the remaining six fixtures if they are to win the title given the superb form of Tottenham. However, Chelsea might have a slight psychological advantage over Tottenham after the semi-final win in the FA Cup over the weekend.
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Conte made a number of changes for his FA Cup clash against Tottenham which saw the likes of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa in the bench. But the duo should get first time action in today's match. Chelsea captain Gary Cahill missed the Tottenham match through illness. If the England international is deemed unfit, Nathan Ake could take his place again.
Conte said during his pre match press conference that he knows who all are going to start for him tomorrow.
"I have in my mind the starting 11 but tomorrow I want to check very well the physical consideration of every single player as our last game was an intense one and used energy. But we have trained very well this season and we have a lot of energy to face this type of situation," BBC quoted Conte as saying.
"It is important for us to win and look at ourselves, but we all know that tomorrow it won't be easy because Southampton is a very good team with a good coach and good players."
Southampton go into this game on the back of a disappointing 3-0 home defeat to Manchester City and Claude Puel will be looking for a strong response from his men in this match. The Saints are currently ninth in the Premier League table and have enjoyed a decent season in the Premier League.
The Blues will be the favourites to win this match, Southampton will certainly change the complexion of the title race should they cause an upset at Stamford Bridge.
Southampton have a number of injuries to deal with as Sam McQueen is doubtful after sustaining a groin injury while captain Virgil van Dijk and Alex McCarthy remain absent. Matt Targett and Charlie Austin will also be out but the duo are expected to return for training soon.
Midfielder Oriel Romeu will be available to face his former side after completing a two-match ban and his manager said that he is not far off from N'Golo Kante.
"I think he's not far off N'Golo Kante. He recovers the ball so well and is a technical player. He's an important player for this team because he can do fantastic work to recover the ball and start the play. It's difficult for us without him. We will see for the future, we are confident in him and, for me, he can look to getting in the selection with Spain, for example," Puel said.
Where to watch
The Premier League match between Chelsea and Southampton is set to start at 7.45pm local time, 12.15 am IST and 2.45 pm EST.
TV and live streaming information
India: TV: Star Sports select HD 1. Live Streaming: Hotstar
UK: TV: Sky Sports 1/HD. Live streaming: Sky Go
USA: TV: NBCSN, Telemundo. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live
Africa: TV: Super Sport 3. Live streaming: Super Sport live
Middle East: TV: Bein Sports Arabia. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect
